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After two years, two seasons and 443 episodes, Major Jackson is stepping down from the host chair. 


A Farewell to Major Jackson

To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.


Supported in Part by National Endowment for the Arts

Raising poetry to a more visible and influential position in American culture.


Produced in Partnership With the Poetry Foundation

Announcements

1402: Gloria Mundi by Michael Kleber-Diggs

Today’s poem is Gloria Mundi by Michael Kleber-Diggs.


Today’s poem is Gloria Mundi by Michael Kleber-Diggs.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I have sort of an odd confession: I have a funeral playlist—a list of songs I want played at whatever my memorial service turns out to be. Occasionally I add to it, and now and then I remove songs once they’ve lost their shine. My kids have laughed about this—“Mom, you’re so dark”—but I don’t find it morbid at all, really. I think of my funeral as the last party I’ll ever throw, and I’ll be there—in spirit, at least. (How’s that for a mom joke?)” 
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp 

The Slowdown

1401: LeaveTaking by Rita Dove

Today’s poem is LeaveTaking by Rita Dove. 


Today’s poem is LeaveTaking by Rita Dove.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem dreams its way into an imagined scenario: finding oneself on this planet, an alien, a stranger, and doing one’s best to be seen as belonging, so as to stay.” 
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp 

1400: The Eulogy I Didn’t Give (I) by Bob Hicok

Today’s poem is The Eulogy I Didn’t Give (I) by Bob Hicok.


Today’s poem is The Eulogy I Didn’t Give (I) by Bob Hicok.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I’m here, and you’re here, so I’d call us “poetry people.” But even people who don’t think of themselves as “poetry people,” people who don’t spend time with poetry each day, do turn to poems when they’re grieving or celebrating: at weddings, funerals, and other occasions that call for something more than we’re able to achieve with our own words. Grief, love, longing, gratitude—these are universal human emotions, and yet they are difficult to articulate! More than any genre, perhaps, poetry can help us say the unsayable. It helps to let poets take the reins.” 
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp 

The Slowdown

Latest Episode

Recent Episodes

1402: Gloria Mundi by Michael Kleber-Diggs

1401: LeaveTaking by Rita Dove

1400: The Eulogy I Didn’t Give (I) by Bob Hicok

Announcements

A Farewell to Major Jackson

Supported in Part by National Endowment for the Arts

Produced in Partnership With the Poetry Foundation

Other APM Podcasts

Truth Be Told

Ripple

The Splendid Table

The Slowdown

Latest Episode

Recent Episodes

1402: Gloria Mundi by Michael Kleber-Diggs

1401: LeaveTaking by Rita Dove

1400: The Eulogy I Didn’t Give (I) by Bob Hicok

Get a poem handpicked by Maggie Smith every weekday. The email includes an abridged version of Maggie’s introduction.

Announcements

A Farewell to Major Jackson

Supported in Part by National Endowment for the Arts

Produced in Partnership With the Poetry Foundation

Other APM Podcasts

Truth Be Told

Ripple

The Splendid Table